TRACTISS ends rituximab hopes for Sjögren’s syndrome

A fourth strategy is to use combination “sandwich” treatment, consisting of belimumab, rituximab, and then belimumab again. “This is what is going to come next, putting two drugs together,” Dr. Barone said. A randomized, double-blind, controlled trial now open to recruitment aims to investigate whether there is value in this approach.

“We’ve bombarded you with a lot of targets,” Dr. Barone observed. “What do we believe is going to be the best one is very, very unclear.”

TRACTISS was funded by Arthritis Research UK with rituximab provided by Roche. Dr. Bowman did not provide any disclosures but previously has been a consultant for Roche, UCB Pharma, and Merck-Serono. Dr. Ng reported no conflicts of interest, and Dr. Barone disclosed consultancy or collaboration with UCB Pharma, GlaxoSmithKline, Celgene, Eli Lilly, and Roche.